Kiss It Better
by LunasaMactire85
Summary: Lexi Bishop has been in love with her brother's best friend Shane for as long as she could remember. When she is put in a threatening situation will his true feelings come to light, or will he continue to hide them from the woman of his dreams?


A/N: This was the first story I ever wrote, and have been editing and re-editing it since 2007. Hopefully all of that editing paid off. All characters and situations are mine.

_**Kiss It Better**_

"So what you're saying is that you wouldn't care at all if your parents came in here right now and shot themselves in front of all of us as long as they had it in their will that you inherited everything?" Lexi Bishop asked Colby Donahue, wondering what on earth had attracted her to him in the first place. Sure, he was good looking - if you squinted really hard and kind of tilted your head a little to the right. He had blond hair that had been professionally styled to look messy and had the slim build of someone who worked out two or three times a month. He was only a little over five feet tall, he was about four inches shorter than she was. Actually, now that she really thought about it, his face didn't really have any defining features, which just enhanced the weakness of his chin. In fact he looked exactly how she would expect a banker to look, and considering that he was a banker she supposed that he had picked the perfect line of work for himself. He was cutthroat enough to get by in his profession and she suspected that if he hadn't been such a wimp at heart he could have been a lawyer, a lousy lawyer but a lawyer just the same.

She had been growing increasingly tired of him over the last week but had still decided to invite him to her weekly get-together at her brothers' house. It was a way to give him one last chance and an excuse for her to break up with him without hurting his feelings or badly bruising his ego. So far, in the three hours they had been there, he had had at least a half bottle of wine and he was now talking more bluntly than he ever had in the two weeks that they had known each other. She now had more reasons than she wanted to think about to break up with him. She was embarrassed that her brother, James, and his best friend, Shane, were here to witness it. And Shane. Well, she wasn't even going to think about Shane. Lexi was startled out of her musings by Colby's voice as he sat forward on the couch they were sharing.

"Yeah, I mean they might as well give me something for having to put up with them for all these years. I couldn't care less whether those peasants were alive or not. They don't have any great wealth; they aren't contributing anything to society, so if you think about it they don't really have any reason to even be alive." Colby slurred. He was obviously completely unaware of the tension in the room. He leaned in secretively towards James and Shane and then said in a stage whisper, "Women never understand things like this. You know what I mean? They wouldn't even be able to survive if it wasn't for us men, huh guys?" Lexi wished she had never invited him to this week's dinner, especially knowing that Shane Masterson would be here.

She let her mind drift back to that first time she had met him, even before he introduced himself he had been her hero. He had stepped in and saved her from a bully who had been taunting her when she was in fourth grade. He gave him a black eye and a bloody nose when he found the guy taunting her about her unruly red hair. She remembered how he had used his own t-shirt to wipe up her tears once the guy had run away. He was a junior at the adjoining high school and she had figured that he would just scare the guy off and then walk away without a care in the world, he had surprised her. He was still surprising her. He had dried her tears and then offered to walk her home. She had been hesitant at first but he quickly persuaded her to let him walk her at least as far as the sidewalk outside her house. They spent most of the walk in a friendly silence that was a premonition of things to come. When they got to her house James was just coming outside, he had seen her still slightly watery eyes and charged at Shane. She stepped in front of him just in time to stop him from tackling Shane and explained what had happened.

Although they had some of the same classes he and her brother had never met before that, but afterwards they became inseparable, and from then on Shane was like another over-protective older brother to her. He had always been there whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on and was now, in some ways, even closer to her heart than James. Not that she would ever admit to her love for him, it would be an embarrassing situation for both of them when he rejected her. Not to mention it could permanently destroy their friendship. She first remembered feeling attracted to him about a week after her sixteenth birthday, she had expected to get over it in time but instead it had just grown stronger.

Now, seeing his electric blue eyes darken with pity and concern as Colby expounded on the unending importance of wealth while he poured even more wine into his glass she wanted to melt into the couch. She couldn't stand being subjected to his piercing gaze one second longer, she had to get out of there. Now.

"Colby, shut up! I can't stand another second of this nonsense. We're leaving." She stood up, tugging Colby up with her. Shane and James stood as she did and she noticed that both of them had their fists clenched, most likely against the urge to punch Colby. They noticed where her gaze had strayed and, as always, their responses were completely in sync as they both forcibly unclenched their hands.

"Yes, that would probably be best. I'll call you later about a few things we need to discuss." James said as he followed them to the front door.

"Sure, I'll also come by tomorrow so you can both get everything off your chests." After giving them both a hug and wishing them goodnight she left, dragging a stumbling Colby along behind.

"Just what in the hell is the matter with you?" Lexi stormed once they had gotten as far as the sidewalk just a little ways down from James's house. It was already pretty dark and the street was completely deserted. She probably should have felt scared but she wasn't, simply because Colby had never shown any signs of violence before.

"What'd ya mean?"

"How could you embarrass me that way? Do you really believe any of that crap you were spouting?"

"I was just answering your question!" He yelled. His face was growing redder by the minute, emphasizing his growing anger. She couldn't remember ever seeing him so angry, but damn it she was angry too!

"Obviously, you're more egotistical and jackassed than I had originally thought. I don't see why I ever went out with you in the first place, but as of tonight we're through for good!"

"Are you dumping me?"

"Now that I think about it, you're a little slow in the head too, always have been. Yes; I'm dumping you. Would it help you understand me better if I used smaller words?"

"You stupid bitch! You can't dump me; I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you. Nobody else would want you. In fact you should be grateful that I want you." He shouted as he lunged at her. She had already started running away but she wasn't fast enough. He latched onto her hair and pulled on it enough to bring her back flush against his chest, he hooked his other arm around her chest; he hooked his other arm around her waist with bruising force. He pulled her head back even further and laughed as she grunted in pain.

"You can't dump me." He growled again. "Take it back right now or else."

"Make me." She spit out, knowing before she even said it that the words would push him over the edge but somehow unable to stop herself. She tried to look over at James's house but that just resulted in Colby pulling her head back even further until she was looking straight up at the stars. Okay, that was it, after tonight she was officially off men for good. No more putting it off, she was never even going to look at another man that way. Except Shane. Shane. She wished he were here now. Ironically, she was also glad he wasn't, she had already been humiliated in front of him enough for one night. Well, it was no use fretting over the past. Now the present, well that was something else entirely. Right about now she really, really wanted to fret. A lot. But she figured it would only add fuel to the fire, better to hope someone would look out their window and see what was happening.

"I think I will." He growled; all traces of drunkenness were gone from his voice but she could tell by the way that he wobbled a bit that he was just as drunk as before. He spun her around so that they were face to face and she inhaled the scent of alcohol pouring off him with every breath she took. One of his hands held both of hers behind her back and the other was slowly making its way up her body until it reached her breast where he started squeezing it roughly. She was fighting not to throw up when she heard the sound of pounding footsteps approaching.

"Let her go!" Shane demanded in a feral tone, not quite bringing her fully out of the fog of pain that Colby's hands were inflicting upon her but restoring her awareness enough to know that help had arrived. His eyes were burning bright with unfulfilled rage and his hands were again clenched into tight fists at his side. Despite the situation she was in she couldn't help but notice that his anger only enhanced his handsomeness. He towered over Colby at six feet tall; his dark chestnut hair was short, but not short enough to be considered a buzz cut; his jeans were faded and fit him like a glove everywhere - and she meant everywhere - and his black polo t-shirt was stretched tight across his broad shoulders and washboard abs. Everything about him screamed male and sex appeal practically oozed off of him. Which, come to think of it, was probably why he was hardly ever without a date.

"What if I don't wanna?" Colby asked in a snide tone as he pulled her even harder against him.

"You will be a hell of a lot uglier than you already are, if that's even possible."

"Fine, you want the bitch? Then come and get her." Colby suddenly flung her into the street and she only had time to register a sharp pain as her head hit the pavement before everything went black.

***

"Come on honey, open up those pretty eyes for me. Oh please don't do this to me sweetheart, wake up." The soothing tones of Shane's slightly shaky voice woke her up. When she opened her eyes she realized she was in Shane's apartment lying in his lap with her head cradled against his chest. She also realized almost immediately that her head was pounding and she was considerably closer to Shane than she could ever remember being. "Are you okay?" The concern and anxiety in his voice made her want to burrow in even closer to his warmth. It took her a few seconds to respond because she was distracted by the way the muscles played in his arms as he tightened his grip slightly.

"Yes, I'll probably just have a couple of bruises and my head is pounding a bit." She said and gave in to the urge to snuggle closer, nuzzling her nose into his neck.

"I could have killed him, but I decided you would prefer that I didn't. I did break his nose and give him two black eyes though. God! When he threw you to the side like that I just lost it, I didn't stop until he was unconscious. And then when I went over to you and you weren't moving I almost died until I was sure that you still had a pulse. It's a good thing I'm the best doctor around huh?"

"Mmmm." Lexi agreed, tilting her head up to look into his eyes. He looked down at the same moment and met her eyes; the tenderness in them caused her breath to become shallow and her nipples to harden. She watched his pupils dilate with desire in response to the way the tip of her left breast slightly brushed against his chest, then he added one more surprise to his long collection of them - he leaned forward and kissed her. The warm brush of his lips against hers was so faint at first that she thought she had imagined it. He drew back a bit and she saw his gaze slowly drift between her eyes and her lips a couple of times before he leaned down again. This time there was no hesitancy at all in his kiss, it was a full on sensual assault and with every beat of her heart the kiss only grew bolder and deeper. She felt her world tilt as he shifted so that she was laying down flat on the couch and he was on top of her, his tongue traced the outline of her lips then slipped inside as she parted them in an unconscious moan of pure pleasure. He responded with a low moan of his own as he thrust his tongue against hers and shifted a bit so that his hardness came into direct contact with her softness. He broke off the kiss with another groan and started tracing kisses down the line of her jaw, his mouth came to rest at the base of her throat and he gently nipped at it, eliciting another soft moan from her. She tilted her hips up in response to the sensations he was causing in her and this time neither knew who groaned. Lexi felt an unfamiliar heat pulsing through her blood as he gently caught her hips in his hands and held her to him while he found her lips again and sipped at the moisture on them.

"Oh God, Lexi. So good. So damn good." Shane muttered before he took her lips again and thrust his tongue back into the warm heat of her mouth. He thrust his hips against her, mimicking the act with his tongue. He released her hips and stopped kissing her long enough to peel her shirt over her head and remove her bra, then he returned his lips to hers as his hands slowly traveled up her ribs and lightly brushed against the sides of her breasts. He trailed butterfly kisses down her throat to the soft flesh of her breasts, lightly brushing over the tips. She arched up towards him, seeking the relief only he could bring.

"Shane, please."

"Please what?"

"Touch me."

"Where?"

She groaned. Much as she wanted to she couldn't bring herself to say it. Shane was the only one who had ever provoked such a response in her and she had no idea how to react to it. All through high school, college, and the last couple of years she had only casually dated and there was never anything more than chaste kissing because it had never felt right with anyone else. It felt right with Shane. Very right. She leaned up a bit to kiss him and groaned when he neatly avoided her mouth.

"Unh-uh. Not until you answer my question. Where do you want me to touch you sweetheart?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I just can't talk like that."

"Sure you can. Just relax and tell me or I may have to punish you." He said, brushing the tips of his fingers down the sides of her breasts.

"I can't." She whimpered, before gasping as he lightly brushed his fingertips around her nipples. "Oh, there."

"Very good."

It took her a few minutes to realize what he meant and she blushed when she remembered what she had just moaned. "In fact, I think that deserves a reward." He said in a voice that was thick with desire. He leaned down and caught one of her nipples in his mouth. She moaned and he trapped her right breast in his hand, simulating the sucking motion of his mouth on her other breast.

"Shane. Let me in, I can't find Lexi anywhere and I'm worried." James's voice broke through the haze of passion that had surrounded them and they realized he must have been knocking for quite a while. Instead of bolting up from the couch like she expected him to, Shane placed another loving kiss on each of her nipples before sitting her up and helping her back into her shirt and bra. His hair was sticking up a little from when she had thrust her hands into his hair and his eyes still had a slightly glazed quality in them.

"We have two options, we can continue what we were doing or we can straighten ourselves up a bit more and open the door to James. That guy never did have good timing." He muttered huskily as his eyes took in her slightly parted mouth, swollen from his kisses and her nipples which were still pressing tight against the material of her shirt. He groaned and reached for her again only to be interrupted by another series of pounding on his front door.

"I think we should open the door." She said as she started to sit up. Shane groaned but got off the couch and pulled her up with him. She turned to go to the bathroom and freshen up but Shane wasn't through with her yet. He drew her back to him and gave her one last deep, scorching kiss before releasing her.

"Fine, but I think it's only fair to warn you that I plan to repeat this experience as soon as possible." He stalked towards the door, straightening himself up as he went. She barely managed to make it into the bathroom before he opened the door.

When she had finished splashing water on her face and fixing her clothes and hair she went into the living room to see Shane and James seated across from each other deep in conversation. She took a moment to study the subtle differences in the way they held themselves and their very different yet, somehow, completely similar mannerisms. While Shane exuded masculinity mixed with raw sex appeal like her brother he was also unfailingly mature, James on the other hand was as mature as a twenty-year-old and had a boyish charm about him. However, she suddenly realized, they were both looking at her in concern mixed with barely constrained fury and she had little doubt that Shane had told James what happened. She walked farther into the room and Shane shifted over on the long couch, allowing her more room to sit down so that the three of them formed a tight circle. There were two mugs of coffee on the table and she figured Shane must have made some while she was getting cleaned up. The silence was overwhelming and in order to stifle her uneasiness she picked up one of the mugs and took a deep gulp then quickly swiped her tongue across her upper lip. Only after setting the mug down did she have enough courage to glance up at the two of them again and the look of bold appreciation in Shane's eyes both shocked and pleased her. Clearing her throat she turned her attention back to James and realized that he had also noticed the look that Shane was giving her, and he wasn't as upset by it as she was. Maybe he was misreading the look for some sort of brotherly concern and that was why he wasn't throwing a fit. Yep, that had to be it. There was simply no other explanation.

"I can guess from your expression that Shane has already told you what happened earlier this evening and you're regretting not being there to do your 'brotherly duty'." Lexi said to James in order to break the long silence that had stretched between the three of them.

"Yes. He has." Lexi could tell by James' clipped tone that he was barely restraining the anger her question had brought back to the surface. He wasn't mad at her, that much she knew. He was mad at what she had been through and he was furious with Colby. "What in the hell did you ever see in that ass? He's not even the least bit handsome and he isn't rich or kind, nor does he even have one other single good trait that I know of. So what was it?"

It took her a moment to actually think of a reply for him, seeing as how she had had this same conversation with herself earlier in the evening. God, that seemed a lifetime away now, so much had happened since then that all the events of dinner at James' now seemed to be no more than a dream. Before she had a chance to answer him there was the sound of someone pounding on the door, thankful for the interruption she got up and went over to the door to answer it. She gasped in shocked outrage when she saw Colby standing on the other side of the door covered in bruises and favoring his left leg. He had a maniacal glint in the one eye that wasn't swollen shut; when he saw her he grinned evilly and started forward. She was deciding whether to tell him off or slam the door in his face when she saw the gun he was holding, he noticed where her attention had strayed to and he raised the gun and shoved it between her eyes. She was starting to wonder if she would make it out of this when the door slammed shut, leaving nothing but the gun and his arm from the elbow up in Shane's apartment. She looked over at her brother and Shane in alarm as she realized they must have teamed up and rammed full force into the door from behind.

She felt tears silently streaming down her face and probably would have fallen to the floor if it wasn't for Shane suddenly rushing forward and taking her into his arms. James opened the door back up and suddenly she could hear the sounds of Colby's sobs of pain, James jerked him inside and then tied his hands and feet together with his belt.

After he was certain that Colby was secure he went over to the phone and called the police station he explained the situation and within minutes there were three uniformed police officers at the door ready to arrest Colby and take down all of their statements. After they had left, promising to issue a restraining order immediately, Shane led Lexi back to the couch and tucked her into his side where she immediately curled up closer to him. James came over to sit on the other side of her and tried to give her a hug but she wouldn't relax her hold on Shane.

He chuckled lightly and said, "I can see I'm not needed right now so as much as I want to stay by your side I'm going home to calm down and I'll come by here tomorrow to see you. Er…you are going to spend the night here aren't you? If you're not then you're coming home with me but I'm not leaving knowing you're going to spend the night alone after what you've just been through."

"I'll take care of her and I won't let her out of my sight. You don't have to worry." Shane answered him without giving her a chance to respond.

"Okay, then I'll be off now and I'll see you tomorrow around two. I want you to sleep in." He placed a kiss on top of her head, strode to the door and walked out.

**

Shane looked down at Lexi and felt a familiar tightening sensation in his chest. He had been in love with her for the past ten months and having to hide the fact from her was becoming unbearable. He had tried backing off but that didn't work for more than a week or two. Lately he had been limiting himself to infrequent caresses so that she wouldn't guess how he felt. It had been a little piece of heaven when he had had her beneath him earlier. He only hoped she had been reacting to him and not to the situation, he would have to see how she felt in the cold light of day. In the morning he was going to finally work up the courage to ask her out. If she said no, well he could only hope that he would be able to find it in himself to continue being her best buddy. The thought of no prospect for a future between them outside the bounds of friendship almost brought him to his knees before he steeled himself against it. Whatever happened he would continue to be her friend because he couldn't bear the thought of them being as awkward and nervous around each other as strangers.

He felt her stir against him and, thinking she wanted space, started to move away which only caused her to cling to him harder. He cradled back to his side and sighed deeply as he thought of what it would be like to have her cradled against him like this if they were married. She stirred against him again and he looked down into her face to see if he could see a hint of what she was feeling in her eyes and realized that she was fast asleep. He didn't want to disturb her but he knew that if he didn't move her she would have a heck of a back ache in the morning, he tightened his arm around her back and slid his other arm under her knees, then stood in one fluid motion. He cradled her still sleeping body tightly to his chest, taking care not to disturb her. Shane walked into his bedroom and closed the door with one foot then he turned around and walked to the king size bed in the middle of the room, placing her gently in it. He let go of her long enough to remove his boots and shirt and then climbed in beside her. The jeans would be uncomfortable but it would be far worse not to have the restriction they provided. He put his arm around her and pulled her against him so that her head rested on his other arm and he was close enough to her to feel the heat from her body soaking through his jeans. He kissed her lightly on the lips and rested his head against hers wondering what the morning would bring.

***

Lexi woke up to a string of kisses along her jaw line, her sleep fogged mind registering the presence of a warm male body pressed up against her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up into Shane's beautiful blues. He smiled slowly and leaned down to kiss her again, this time he hesitated for a second, as if to let her decide if she was sure of what she was doing, and she leaned up the rest of the way and took his mouth with her own. The sensation of being wrapped in his arms with his mouth on hers caused a wave of desire like she had never before experienced the force of to course through her body. It felt like he was staking a claim on her that would never fully vanish. She moaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him even closer as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. He shifted so that he was lying fully on top of her and she felt the full force of his desire pressing into her stomach. Unable to help herself, she lifted her hips into his, causing them both to groan in pleasure. Then, without warning, he pulled back.

"Are you sure?" He asked with a look of such desire on his face that she found it impossible to say no to him. In fact, it was hard to say anything at all with the hot length of him still pressing into her but she somehow managed a small nod. He moved in for another deep kiss and led her slowly towards oblivion.

***

A little while later she was resting sated next to him as he gently stroked her hair, wondering where they were going from there. She knew that there was no going back and she didn't really want to erase this experience in the first place so that wasn't even an option. She wondered if it had been as meaningful for him as it had been for her. She hoped she wasn't just another roll in the hay for him.

Out of pure nervousness she got up, wrapping the sheet around her, and headed towards the bathroom. Or at least that's what she would have done if Shane hadn't caught the edge of the sheet that was still on the bed and hauled her back onto it with him. She gasped and started struggling but his strong arms wrapped around her like bands of steel, trapping her against him.

"Okay, what's this about? A few minutes ago you were panting my name. Which I'll have you doing again soon enough if you don't stop struggling like that." He moved against her and she immediately stopped, she blushed when she realized the effect her struggling was having on him. Her mind started to fog over at the feel of his warm male body against hers but she pushed the sensations away and tried to focus on the conversation.

"I'm just not used to this."

"Used to what?"

"I really like you. As a friend, and as so much more. And I'm so afraid that this will have just been a one-off for you."

"Lexi…"

"No. I take it back, I don't like you." She had turned her head away, so she missed the crushed look that flashed in his before he shielded them. After a long pause, she took a deep breath and said, " I love you."

He barked out a relieved laugh, and kissed her deeply. When he had to come up or risk suffocation, he looked at her and said, "You silly little…do you even realize how long I've been in love with you."

"You love me?"

"Yeah, and as soon as we decided to leave this bed I'm going to see to it that you marry me. Whether you like it or not."

With a purely feline grin she rolled them over and sank herself down onto him.

"I think that can be arranged."

The only response she got was a deep groan as he started thrusting himself up into her.


End file.
